The Invisible Rose
by Krazy Ky-Sta Hatter
Summary: After an accident, Rose wakes up on the TARDIS. But no one can see her. Is she a ghost? An echo? Or something else entirely? And how can she get back to normal, when the Doctor doesn't even know she's home?
1. Death

_**Hello!**_

_**I know ANOTHER one! I really should just get one finished but all these ideas just keep jumping around in my head. I stumbled across a fic on Teaspoon the other day (it was actually nothing like this, and admittedly very smutty), but the point is that one small thing about it gave me an idea.**_

_**So it just kept developing. It starts out on the Parallel world, and just so you understand the first part. Rose has been called into the field, but Jackie is in a near by building, watching. That's why she's there so fast. From there it goes back to our universe and starts from Human Nature. I wasn't too sure where to end it, but I had a BRILLIANT idea I could use for Journey's End, so it goes up to there.**_

_**You can probably guess what's going to happen by the title of the chapter, but enjoy anyway.**_

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**Death**

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The woman looked at the alien in front of her. It was scared that was all. She could see it in its eyes. It didn't know what was happening or where it was. It didn't understand what they were. It couldn't understand what they said. Except her. And now she stood before it. This strange pink and yellow creature that stood on two legs, speaking its language.

"It's okay," she told it. "I'm a friend. My name's Rose. Your ship has crashed on Earth. But we can help you, we can send you home."

The alien looked at her cautiously. "R-ossssse…" it hissed, experimenting with the name on its whip like tongue.

"That's right," she coaxed. "Let me help you." She stepped forward to help it. Quicker than it took for her to realise, the caution in its eyes turned to fear. A large talon swung forward and swiped her across the shoulder and down the chest. She gasped in pain.

She felt cold and numb as shock took over her. Strangely, she felt something warm on her internally frozen chest. It took a moment longer for her to realise that blood was now saturating her shredded clothes. Her knees crumpled beneath her.

Hands appeared out of nowhere, dragging her to safety. The yelling was horrendous and she thought she heard a gun shot. She could hear her name amongst all the yelling. Someone was calling for Owen, their medic.

But the world was in a blur. There was only the shock and the pain. Then somewhere in the back of her mind, she heard singing. The singing grew louder and louder, drowning out the cries that came from her dad and Mickey. And eventually even the painful shriek that could only have been her mother's. The singing grew louder still, till it was almost all she could hear. It was so sweet and so sad, yet filled with hope. It was so beautiful that tears ran from her eyes.

"Stay with us Rose," a voice called from very far away.

Stay? Why would she want to stay? She wanted to go to the voice. The soft beautiful voice that was singing - calling - to her. She wanted to go. She didn't know why, but she knew that there was something good waiting for when she got to the voice.

She could no longer hear her mother's desperate sobbing or the urgent yelling, ordering people on how to help her, nor her best friend shouting at her to come back. She didn't care anymore. She loved them. But she wanted to go. She wanted the voice and the love and the comfort.

And of course, the moment she knew she wanted to go, a glowing golden light formed within her. She could feel it in her heart. It was warm and beautiful and she felt it pulling her away.

With the sweet notes of the song playing through her head, Rose fell into oblivion.

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_**Fear not! There will be more Rose! Majority of the story is from her point of view, so don't panic. I actually hate major character deaths, but this part was nessesary. Just hand tight and you'll see.**_


	2. Ghost

**Ghost**

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Rose took a deep, desperate gasp for air. Once oxygen was back in her lungs, she felt fine. Looking down, she found herself in her dark pink 'Punky Fish' jacket. As far as she could tell, she was fine. She began checking herself over, patting her hands down her body. She found nothing. No gash, no life threatening injury. Not even a scratch.

Hang on, her 'Punky Fish' jacket? She hadn't worn that in years… she didn't even have it anymore. Not only had it been lost in the other universe, but it had been utterly destroyed when it had caught on fire at a luau on Laka III. _("The entire planet is founded on Hawaiian culture, Rose," the Doctor had said gleefully. "Laka was the Goddess of the Hula! It's one of four moons all with the same name. They circle the Planet Lakakane, him being the God of Hula." - Yes, because that information had come in handy when one of the tiki torches had tipped and fallen on her and she had to scramble out of the jacket before it could hurt her.)_

It wasn't until she heard the sound of a door opening that she noticed where she was. She was in the TARDIS… holy crap, she was in the TARDIS!

The dull green glow of the central column brightened and the TARDIS hummed excitedly. She could hear a faint singing and realised two things at once. One, it was the TARDIS singing. Two, it was almost the same song that had called to her as she had died…

Had she died? She was sure she had been dying, and then she was standing in the TARDIS. Hmm, she could be dead. The TARDIS _was_ one of her ideas of heaven.

She looked up to the door, expecting to see the Doctor. But instead she saw a young dark woman in an olden day maid's uniform.

"Hello," the woman said fondly. "You've never done that before," she remarked when she noticed how the TARDIS was reacting. "Are you excited to see me? Well, I guess you are a little lonely." The TARDIS gave a graunch that almost sounded indignant. But the woman didn't notice, instead she seemed to realise what she was doing. "Ugh, I'm talking to a machine…"

Rose knew how she felt, having talked to a twig once, but she felt something flare in her at those words. The TARDIS wasn't _just_ a machine. "She'd probably be upset if you didn't," she told the woman. "She's alive, she _can_ hear you."

But the woman ignored her. She just slowly waked up the ramp to the console, a forlorn, thoughtful look on her face as she took her gloves off.

"Erm, excuse me, where's the Doctor?" she tried, she took a step closer. "And who are you anyway?"

Still the woman ignored her, she walked sadly around the console and stopped, looking up at some contraption hanging from the roof. Her eyes closed against what looked to be some painful memories. When she opened her eyes, she was looking at the device in hatred and fear. She sighed heavily.

"Hey! Hello!" Rose called to her. She was starting to panic a little. This girl was ignoring her as if she actually didn't exist. "Hey, can you hear me? God, please say you can hear me!" She waved a hand in front of her face. Still nothing. Not a blink or any form of reaction. Not even a breeze about her pinned up hair. "Shit! I'm dead. I'm a bloody ghost. I'm a bloody ghost on the TARDIS!"

The woman made her way around to the monitor and switched it on. A video appeared on screen and showed the Doctor sitting down on the jump seat. It was her Doctor. All brown and pinstripe suits and great hair. "This working?" he said, tapping the screen. "Martha," he addressed the camera. She assumed that he was leaving a message for the dark girl. "Before I change, here's a list of instructions for when I'm human."

"Wait, _what?"_ Sorry, he what? All Rose could do was stand there spluttering in shock. How the hell could he become human?

"One, don't let me hurt anyone. We can't have that, but you know what humans are like." Rose gave an affectionate snort at that. "Two, don't worry about the TARDIS. I'll put it on emergency power so they can't detect it. Just let it hide away. Four… no, wait a minute. Three, no getting involved in big historical events. Four, you. Don't let me abandon you." Rose's heart melted and yet grew cold at the soft, affectionate tone he used. He only used to use that voice with her. "And five-"

The rest of it blurred by as Martha put it in fast forward. "But there was a meteor, a shooting star," she told the screen. "What am I supposed to do then?"

"And twenty three," the Doctor said at normal speed. "If anything happens. If they find us, Martha, you know what to do. Open the watch. Everything I am is kept safe in there. Now, I've put a perception filter on it so the human me won't think anything of it. To him it's just a watch. But don't open it unless you have to. Because once you open it, then the Family will be able to find me. It's all down to you, Martha. Your choice." He went to move off screen, but then stopped and looked back. "Oh, and - thank you."

The screen froze on a still shot of his brilliant adorable grin. The two women just stared at it for a while until the screen faded to black.

"I wish you'd come back," Martha whispered.

"Yeah, me too," Rose agreed. "He'd be able to figure out this ghost problem."

…Then again, were you supposed to feel your heart beating if you were dead? How could she be dead when she felt so alive? And the TARDIS seemed to know she was here.

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After a moment, Martha sighed and looked down at herself. "God I hate 1913," she muttered. "At least the TARDIS has a decent shower… or one at all." And with that, she turned and made her way into the depths of the ship.

Rose followed her a little way. How long had it been for the Doctor? He still looked the same, yet obviously he had moved on. No, she couldn't think like that. It was horrible to think that he was out there along with no one to care for him. He needed someone to hold his hand, to tell him it was going to be okay and make him happy. If she couldn't do that, then she would rather someone else then no one at all.

Although… this Martha _did_ seem to like him a little too much. She knew what that was like.

She stopped when she reached the hallway with the rooms. There only used to be two rooms in here. There had been three when Jack, and then Mickey had joined them. She was somewhat happy to see three rooms there again. Hers was one of them. It hadn't moved.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped forward… and walked into the door.

"Ow! What?" she said in confusion, rubbing her head. Around her the TARDIS hummed as if she were laughing. It was funny, she only used to get notions of the ships emotions when she first came aboard, then they had been clearer after she looked into her heart. But now it was like she knew exactly what they were. And the TARDIS was definitely laughing at her. "Hey! That's not fair. If I'm a ghost, I should be able to walk through walls and stuff right?"

Still the TARDIS only laughed and sighed fondly. Tentatively, Rose reached out to the handle, expecting her hand to go right through, but instead it met the cool metal. Smiling slightly, she turned the knob and pushed open the door to her room.

"Okay, so I can touch the TARDIS," she said to her self as she stepped in. "Okay, I'm confused. Am I dead or not?" Getting no reply, she just looked about her room. Nothing had changed. Okay, maybe a few things. There was no dust, but that was because the TARDIS kept it that way. Her bed had been made, and then messed up from someone lying on it.

She walked over and ran her hand along the new long imprint on the cover. As she lay down, she could smell something familiar on the pillow. Oh, it was so familiar, and so nice and comfortable. It smelled like the Doctor.

Had he stayed here? On her bed, just lying there, wishing she were still with him? The thought warmed her heart and bought painful tears to her eyes. She couldn't hold them back as everything came crashing down on her. She sobbed into her pillow.

Was she alive or dead? What was happening to her? Why couldn't Martha see her? What about her family? She had no clue what was going on, and she was scared.

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"What the?" Martha's voice came from outside her room. "What's this doing open?" Then the lady was stepping inside. Curiosity burned in her eyes and it soon changed to amusement. "A girls room?" she scoffed. "What's so secret and off limits about a g-" she stopped dead when she saw the photo frame on Rose's bedside table. Sighing, Martha sat down

She sat right on Rose. No, _through_ Rose! She had sat down and gone _right through_ her! Rose jumped up, a panicked scream at her lips. She started patting down her chest, feeling how solid it was. It felt fine. And she hadn't felt anything, no pain, no shiver. It was just as if there had been nothing there. But Martha had gone _through_ her!

Martha hadn't noticed anything at all. She just sat on the bed of a ghost and stared at the picture frame. It was some sort of digital photo frame that did a slideshow of images. She just sat and watched them go by.

The first picture was of the Doctor and a blonde woman. They were both posing for the photo, their arm wrapped tightly around the other. The Doctor was wearing a paper Christmas hat, and though he seemed to be the same age, he somehow looked a lot younger. But it was more than that. He looked… happy. Oh, she'd seen him smile, but never like that.

More pictures flashed up. One of the blonde girl with a similar looking older woman - it must be her mother. One with a man who was devastatingly good looking and had the air about him that he knew it. One with the good looking man and a man with big ears and a leatherjacket sandwiched on either side of her. 'Dumbo' didn't look all too pleased to be in the photo.

But the next photo was just of the girl and Dumbo. They obviously hadn't known about the camera. They looked so happy and silly. The next photo was similar, except the two of them were dancing around the console… they were in the TARDIS?

There was one of the girl and a rather good looking black guy too. And one of her and him with another dark haired girl.

But that was when it moved onto photo's of just the girl and the Doctor. One was a collage of the two of them pulling funny and silly faces, as if they were at a photo booth that took twenty pictures.

The rest were all natural, like they hadn't known about the camera. One, the Doctor sat on a couch, his feet resting on a coffee table. He was grinning over at the girl who was sitting at the other end of the couch with her feet resting on him. Another was of them walking away, their hands entwined and their heads bent together like they were talking about something secret. The next, they had fallen asleep on the library couch. They looked warm in the firelight. A book had fallen to the arm of the couch. The Doctor's head had fallen to the side and was nuzzling into blonde hair, his arms were wrapped around the girl who had fallen asleep on his lap. She was curled into his chest, a small smile on her lips.

And the next was just a photo of the two of them standing, looking at each other. The look was of pure adoration and joy. Just looking at the photo made her feel she was invading on something highly personal. It was clear to anyone looking, that these two were in love.

"So you're Rose," she whispered to the girl in the frame.

Rose blinked. Martha knew who she was? He had talked about her?

Martha looked at the photo. Rose was younger than she had expected. She had expected her to be some big wonderfully beautiful goddess or something. The Doctor had never said as much, but the way he said her name… But she was just a normal pretty young woman… who wore _far _too much eyeliner. Yes, the girl was pretty. But now she saw the truth. She was just a normal girl - not a goddess with man enchanting powers - that he had fallen for.

She felt bile rising in her throat. It would never be her, would it? She had never seen him look so happy… and so did she. Rose looked unbelievably happy too. How could someone who was _that_ happy and in love just _leave_?

She noticed that the image hadn't changed in a while and saw her finger was pressing against a button on the side. Pushing another button, a grid of squares came up, showing blurry still shots. When she tapped on one she realised it was a video as it grew to full screen and began to play.

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The image on the screen wobbled and flickered about. "What's this? What's it doing?" asked a rather annoying, high pitched voice.

The camera clunked around as someone moved it to face them. "It's on video," she heard the Doctor's voice.

"Video?" the woman shrieked. "It can film things? A camera with a video? I've heard of them… But they're so _expensive_! And it's tiny!"

"Yeah, we got one from the future," the Doctor told her, still off screen. "Not that far off actually. Give it a couple of years and everyone will have one of these. Well, we _did_ get this one from 2013. Wanted to get a decent one. Just, don't flash it about too much."

"Here, Rose, can you find out how to turn this off?"

The camera rattled again as it was chucked at someone. But it couldn't muffle a surprised grunt from the Doctor.

"No way in hell I'm turning _this_ off," a cheeky voice giggled quietly. The camera turned and finally stilled on the Doctor being attacked by that older blonde woman. He was sanding stiff as a board, his hands locked into claws as the woman trapped him in a hug and planted kisses all over his face.

"Thank you. Thank you. You daft. Stupid. Alien!" she cried between kisses.

"Gah! Jackie! Jackie, stop! Jackie! Jackie! Please, Jackie!" the Doctor cried as he attempted to fight her off.

A giggling distracted them both and they turned to face the camera and the girl behind it.

"Oh, think this is funny, do-" the Doctor's face fell further and he froze as he saw the camera and its little red light. "Are you…? No!" He finally managed to jump free and he lunged after her. "No! Rose, give me that camera! Rose!"

The screen wobbled as the holder turned-tale and ran. You could just hear the delighted squeal of someone being chased before the image cut out.

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Martha was surprised to find herself giggling. Rose, however, found herself crying. She missed the Doctor so much. And she was never going to see her mum again… And no one could even _see_ her! Was she dead, a ghost,_ what_?

… Should ghosts feel hungry?

Beside her, Martha sighed and put the frame back. "You were so lucky," she whispered. "You were an idiot to give it up."

"I didn't choose this!" she said. "I would have rather died… Well, I got my wish." Dejectedly, she went to the door and opened it. She was starving.

As the door creaked open, Martha looked up in shock. Thinking it was the TARDIS or something, she took the - imagined - hint and left.

**?...DW…?**

By the time Rose got back to the console room with a plate of her favourite foods, Martha had left. She walked around the console, trailing her hands longingly over the buttons. Oh, she had missed this place. She had missed her home.

She was really curious about what was going on. She was curious about everything. She wanted to know what was happening to her, who this Martha was and what had happened to the Doctor. The first thing, she would probably have to wait until this was all sorted out so that the Doctor could tell her. The second she could find out in time. She could stand waiting. She could just watch Martha. Unlike for Martha, she was actually there. She didn't have to go snooping in her room or something. But the third… the third was fairly simple, wasn't it? There was a video.

Turning the monitor towards her, she sat on the jump seat. The TARDIS automatically played the video for her.

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The Doctor sat down and looked at the screen questioningly. "This working?" he said, tapping the screen. "Martha, before I change, here's a list of instructions for when I'm human. One, don't let me hurt anyone. We can't have that, but you know what humans are like." He waved his hand dismissively and Rose couldn't help but giggle again. "Two, don't worry about the TARDIS. I'll put it on emergency power so they can't detect it. Just let it hide away. Four… no, wait a minute. Three, no getting involved in big historical events. Four, you. Don't let me abandon you. And five, very important, five," he leaned forward and put on a serious face as if to emphasise the point. "Don't let me eat pears. I _hate_ pears. John Smith is a character that I made up, but I won't know that. I'll think I am him, and he might do something stupid like eat a pear! In three months, I don't want to wake up from being human and taste _that!_"

This part had Rose in silent hysterics. "Six," the Doctor went on. "That watch. It stores my DNA template, memories and everything else that makes me the Doctor. Make _sure_ - it's _extremely_ important - that I don't lose it. I can't change back without it. Erm… now, seven… now I'm not really certain here. I've never done this before, and I only have other's records to go off. But there's a chance that I'll start remembering my life, most likely as dreams. You have to convince me that they don't mean anything."

This made her frown. How horrible it must be to not remember who you really are. To dream of a wonderful, fantastic life that is actually yours, but not quite reach it.

"And eight, please stay out of trouble and refrain from wandering off _into_ trouble…" he seemed to drift off into thought and his expression became sad and fond and wistful. It almost broke her heart. It reminded her of the few times he had spoken of Gallifrey… only worse. She didn't know that, were Martha here, she would recognise the look and know that he was thinking of Rose.

"Nine," he suddenly said far too brightly, trying to snap out of the mood he'd been in. "Just come and check on the TARDIS every now and then. She'll get pretty lonely. Also just make sure that no one's found it. Most people won't notice it, but if there's something different about them, or if they're part of the Family, they might. Ten, whatever you do. Be safe. I won't actually be me, so I can't help you. And… what am I up to? Ah, eleven, I know how scared you're going to be when I change. It's really not a pleasant experience. And I know that it'll probably give you a few reservations about me changing back. Don't worry, it's nothing like that. Won't hurt a bit. Don't ask me how, it just doesn't."

Rose gasped in a tiny breath. It had hurt him to change into a human? And by the look on his face as he said it, she could tell that deep down he was terrified.

"Twelve, no matter what time frame we're in, please try and keep _me_ out of trouble. John Smith will act like everyone else from that time and place, but deep down… _way_ deep down… he's still me. There's probably something there that he'll mess up or get into trouble with…" His face screwed up a moment and he gave a hollow chuckle. "Oh dear, I'm admitting faults here. That says something doesn't it! Anyway, thirteen, bananas! Bananas are good. Wherever we are, _please_ try and find some. I really love bananas; they're a good source of potassium."

Rose smiled as memories came back to her. She sighed in delighted exasperation. Her Doctor and his bananas…

"Fourteen, there may be some people, rather curious people who want to know more about us. People who want to get closer or find something out. You can't trust anyone too much. The Family can change their shape. If people ask too many questions, elude them. Fifteen, you _cannot_ let on to who we really are. I can't know that you're a med student from 2007. And I definitely can't know that I am the Doctor. It could be disastrous and if the Family come, I don't imagine I would react too well. And sixteen, John is going to believe with every fibre of his being that _he is_ John Smith. He's probably going to need convincing to open the watch. But please be nice to him, you'll be tearing his world apart and essentially killing him. Just… be gentle."

Rose's heart really went out to the poor man that the Doctor had become. No memory of who really was. Only dreams, which would cause a normal man of 1913 to believe he were mad. And he would only be around for three months before he would effectively be 'killed'. And poor Martha had to take care of all that!

"Seventeen, try and stay close to me. You'll have to find your own back story that somehow works in with my memories. Try and make sure you're someone I would see everyday. Eighteen… Blimey, are we that high already? Anyway, eighteen, someone is bound to become suspicious of me. You're not all stupid apes, no matter the time frame. If someone catches on, try and lead them away. - Haven't I already said something like that? Oh well, it was a little different, let's just go with it."

Rose rolled her eyes affectionately. "Nineteen, I've already warned you about getting close to people in case it may be the Family trying to hurt you. Now I'm warning you about getting close to people so you don't get hurt, period. I mean, what if you fell in love with some bloke and decided to stay? Then I'd have to find a new companion, and I really hate doing that. Not to mention I'd have to tell your mother, and she'll probably slap me. Seriously! Put your mother and Jackie in a room… No! No, don't do that! Bad. Very bad idea!"

Rose laughed as he shuddered in horror at the thought. What was it with him and mothers?

"Twenty, feel free to use the TARDIS for anything you need, as long as it doesn't arouse suspicion. Or that you don't activate an alert or send yourself somewhere you can't get back from. Only one person has done that with out a manual before… nearly killed her too." He looked down a moment to hide his expression. "But who knows, eh? Twenty-one, you're going to have to blend in. When you find out where we land, you'll have to dress for that time. It just occurred to me that you've never dressed up yet. Little odd that. But the wardrobe is on the first left, second right, third on the left, go straight ahead, under the stairs, past the bins, it's the fifth door on your left. Have fun in there."

She hadn't dressed up yet? Really? Rose dressed up her second trip! She loved dressing up as much as the Doctor had loved showing off.

"Twenty-two, this is a very long list. I must keep lists shorter. Keep the sonic and the psychic paper with you, just in case. You might need to try and convince me who I really am. It might help. But make sure that no one else finds it! And twenty three, if anything happens. If they find us, Martha, you know what to do. Open the watch. Everything I am is kept safe in there. Now, I've put a perception filter on it so the human me won't think anything of it. To him it's just a watch. But don't open it unless you have to. Because once you open it, then the Family will be able to find me. It's all down to you, Martha. Your choice." He went to move off screen, but then stopped and looked back. "Oh, and - thank you."

Once again the screen froze on a still shot of his brilliantly adorable grin. The screen faded to black, and Rose sat in shock, staring blankly at the monitor.

From what she could gather, the Doctor had somehow - painfully - turned himself into a human, he was now a man called John Smith, who had no recollection of who he really was, except in dreams that would make him believe he were a madman. And poor Martha was stuck in a time where things were very different to what she was used to, so she could look after him.

And just to throw gasoline on the fire, they were being hunted by shape changing aliens called 'the Family'.

Great. This was just bloody great.

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_**Rassilon, it's harder than you think to think up 23 rules! (Well, technically 17, but still). The fun part was writing about the digital photo frame.**_

_**Know what Rose is yet? Yeah, I'm not to sure either.**_


	3. Forever Bound

_**Hello! Yup, third chapter is done! It's a little emotional, especially towards the end. I actually wrote most of this during my breaks at work. I have a new job now with MUCH longer hours. So I'll have to write more at nights. But I ended up having to type up at least 10 pages from my big notebook. That was fun.**_

_**So, I hope you enjoy it.**_

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**Forever Bound**

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Rose knew that she had to help. If John Smith was anything like the Doctor, then Martha had her hands full. And if the woman's suspicions of the Family being here were true, then things were going to get _much_ worse… That… and she really couldn't stand to wait another month to see him, even if he technically was someone else.

She figured that she could dress up later - in something _much_ prettier than a maid outfit. - But for now she had to get her bearings.

Stepping out of the TARDIS, she saw that she was in some kind of barn or shed. Steeling herself for what lay beyond, she stepped forward. Every step away from the TARDIS, her legs felt heavier. It was like the further away she was, the harder it was to move at all. In the end she crawled back to the TARDIS, gasping from the effort as she leant on the door.

Helpfully, the TARDIS opened the door for her, and she stumbled in. When she was inside she felt… fine… like nothing had happened.

"You're kidding me!" she complained before walking over, sighing and falling heavily into the jump seat. "Right, so leaving the TARDIS is a big 'no'." The TARDIS hummed apologetically. "Na, it's okay, I get it. Well, I don't, but I can cope. It's just been a long day. I die, I become a TARDIS bound ghost, and find out that the Doctor's human. Anything else I left out? Oh yeah, I'm never going to see my family again, and the only person I have left can't see _me!_" The TARDIS gave another apologetic hum. "I'm sorry," she sighed. "It's not your fault. It's just… a lot to take in."

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It was after having a shower that Rose realised she couldn't wear normal clothes. She had found - much to her amusement - that she only had to _think_ off the clothes she had been wearing. But later she had found that it took a constant, conscious effort to actually wear other clothes. At one point, they just fell off her.

The shower was fine, in fact, it felt good. But it really confused her as to what she really was.

She could touch, feel and pick up some things. Other things - like objects, food and clothes - took effort. And some - like so far _people_ - it was as if she didn't exist at all.

For a while now she had been arguing that she was dreaming. But there was no way in hell her imagination was _this_ good. Besides, if it was a dream, the Doctor would be here. Not John Smith or whoever. The _Doctor_. Here. Now.

But who knew. Maybe tomorrow she would wake up back in her bed in the Tyler mansion… Somehow that thought felt worse than the fact no one even knew she was there.

**?...DW…?**

_**Can:  
**Make clothes disappear / appear.  
Have a shower.  
Eat / get hungry.  
Sleep in a bed / get tired.  
Touch anything that is the TARDIS.  
Be seen and heard by the TARDIS.  
Understand TARDIS sounds - more than I used to._

_**Effort:  
**Wearing **other** clothes.  
Holding food.  
Holding things from my room (or others)._

_**Can't:  
**Leave the TARDIS.  
Be seen or felt by people.  
Walk through walls.  
Touch people._

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Rose growled in frustration as, yet again, the pen and notebook fell from her hands. Every time she stopped to really think of something new for the list she would lose concentration and the pen and book would fall through her fingers… literally.

She was already getting sick of this. She shifted to the side so she could get to the seat below her. But as she picked it up the door opened. So it was probably a good thing that the book fell through her hands again and landed out of sight, under the jump seat. The pen dropped through the grating and would probably never be seen again.

"Calm down," Martha muttered to herself as she barged into the TARDIS. "It's fine. He's human, he doesn't really mean it." She went straight to the monitor and continued ranting as she flicked through the list of rules.

"What's got your bloomers in a twist?" Rose asked. "What's he done now?"

"There's got to be something in here. Anything! Come on, what about women? Oh no, you didn't think about that, did you? Why would you? They're invisible to you anyway!"

Rose snorted, thinking about how 'this' woman defiantly was… Hmm, at least she could joke about it.

"No, don't worry, there's no way you can fall in love as a human, you're already in love. And, oh yeah, _she's __**never**__ coming back!_"

"Hey!" Rose shouted anger, what Martha had meant not really sinking in.

Martha finally ran out of steam and just leant against the console as the video finished. "You had to, didn't you," she whispered. "You just had to go and fall in love with a human… and it wasn't me."

"Oh, you are _kidding_ me!" Rose cried.

Putty. Honestly, women were like putty in that man's hands. But even so, Martha needed to pull herself together. Rose had been down the same track as her, loving the Doctor. She liked the woman, she really did, but Rose could tell that she already spent too much of her energy on the Doctor. Even without seeing them together she could tell the woman was trying to force it with him, instead of letting it come naturally.

She remembered what that was like. The laughing, the hand holding, the hugging. Just being with him and being happy, until suddenly it was too late to go back. And then, after he regenerated, being able to learn him anew, fall in love all over again. And this time it was deeper, because it actually seemed like sometimes he felt it too. And she knew, deep down, exactly what he had been going to say on that beach.

"Right, then," Martha sighed. "Nothing I can do about it. He'll just have to break her heart when he changes back." Something in her voice sounded a little too smug about that. She looked down and sighed. "He's never going to notice me. I'm bloody invisible!"

"Try being me," Rose muttered.

"Who knows, maybe if I were _Rose_ he'd see me."

"Would you like to swap?" she asked. "And you have no idea how ironic that was."

Suddenly a look of panic came over Martha's face. "Crap! I have to get back. Mr Rocastle will kill me if I'm late!" And with that, she dashed out the door.

"…Well, at least I can't say my life is boring," Rose sighed. Then she stooped down, and attempted the list again.

**?...DW…?**

Rose wasn't expecting anything to happen, so it was a shock when the TARDIS began to lurch. It had only been a few hours since Martha had left. She ran into the console room, she felt safest there. She knew something was moving the TARDIS, and that couldn't mean anything good.

After a while, the shaking stopped. Everything settled and she curled herself in a ball on the jump seat.

It was another few hours later that anything happened. The doors slammed open to reveal the Doctor. He was wearing strange clothes - for him anyway - and had a dark expression on his face.

He went straight to the grating under the console and pulled it up. After a moment of rummaging around, he found a few sets of manacles. Then, grabbing them, he ran out.

Rose blinked. It had all happened so fast, she hadn't even had time to react. One thing was obvious, though. He had definitely been himself - though, much darker and angrier than she had ever seen him before. He was no longer human.

But it was only a few seconds later that he and Martha dragged four manacled people on board.

"Thank you, Martha," he said gruffly. "You go look after Tim; I'll take care of them."

"Okay," Martha said hesitantly. She seemed both sympathetic for him and scared of him. "What are you going to do with them?"

The Doctor looked across at the people. He looked every part the Oncoming Storm. But not even she had seen that look on his face before.

And it terrified her.

"They want to live forever…" he said. Martha nodded heavily before she hesitantly left. Rose could tell she was worried about the Doctor. But why didn't she do anything to stop him? He needed someone right now, someone to hold his hand and hold him together. So why did she do nothing?

.

When Martha was gone, the Doctor looked down at his clothes and pulled a face. She had to admit, the sight of him in tweed was funny.

"Ugh! Am I wearing a bowtie?" he grumbled. Instantly he reached up and took it off. Then he strode down the corridors to his room.

When Rose next saw him in his usual brown suit… she wished she could say he looked like himself again.

**?...DW…?**

Rose lay on her bed, wishing that things were different. She knew that those people were the Family. And she understood that the people they had possessed were dead. But the things had done to them… Such _horrible_ things!

The Doctor she had known would never have done anything like that. He would have given them a chance. It was as if something really bad had happened to him and had driven him over the edge. She wondered what could have been so bad. But it really would have been the feather on the camels back. He had lost so much. His people, his planet… her.

She had yelled at him and tried to stop him, but it was useless. He could see and hear her as much as Martha could. She couldn't touch him either. She just went through him as if it was an illusion.

After he had gotten rid of the Family, he had gone back to the school and to a cottage to tie up loose ends - very unlike him. While he did that, Martha had gotten changed into her normal clothes.

And when he had come back - after they had said goodbye to a psychic boy called Tim - Martha had asked about what had happened to the boy. After a bit of searching, the Doctor had pulled up a record of a Timothy Latimer being at a remembrance service in 2007. They had gone to that.

Now she lay on her bed, the Doctor had arrived back and put them into the Time Vortex nearly ten minutes ago.

She listened as light footsteps - that must be Martha's - go into the room next to hers. The Doctor was alone. She could almost imagine him walking solemnly around the console, like he had after Reinette.

.

She was almost asleep when her door clicked open and the Doctor slipped in. It surprised her to say the least. For a moment he just leaned his head back against the door and sighed heavily.

Then he slowly walked over to the bed. He - thankfully - sat on the side of the bed that she wasn't occupying, and rummaged around in his pocket. She rolled over and sat beside him, curious about what he was doing in her room and what he was looking for.

What he pulled out of his pocket was a small leather book, bound together with a red tie of silk. It didn't really _look_ like anything special, just a book… but the way he was holding it… He turned the cover and binding page to the first page. It had an image of an inky white rose, above it in a neat scrawl it said, 'The Book of Rose'.

"I couldn't just leave it there," he reasoned to himself. "Everyone thought I was mad enough… but this was… I couldn't remember who the hell I was, but I still dreamt of you every night," he laughed hollowly, speaking to the room now… to her. "I was always confused when I woke. Dreams would slip away… But the dreams of you got clearer and clearer, everything else would fade… but not you."

Sighing again, he shifted and lay back and she had to scramble back to the other side of the bed so he didn't go through her. She couldn't feel anything, but the thought was unsettling.

She lay beside him as he flicked through the book. She knew that this must be the first time he had looked at it after John Smith and was seeing it through new eyes. New eyes that knew the meaning behind it all. Knew all the joy and the pain behind every memory.

The next pages had drawings of her, one on either side. Around her were names she had been called at one point or another. Some she didn't even remember being called. At the bottom of the page below the second picture it read, 'She has so many names, but she's my Rose.'

The page after that made her heart sink. One picture was of her letting go of the leaver. Another was of her and the Doctor standing on Bad Wolf Bay… and the last was of a small gravestone… her name engraved on it. Surrounding it were words like 'Trapped', 'Dead?' and 'He will never see her again'. But it was the words, 'He knows that it is not true, just a symbol upon this world. But still his hearts shatter and he breaks down in front of the small white stone', that broke her.

"Oh, Doctor," she whispered, her voice cracking.

"Listen to me… I'm talking to an empty room," he sighed. "Wishful thinking. Maybe if I keep talking, you'll actually be here listening to me. Usually with that pretty, indulgent smile… I'm afraid I'm going to forget that smile. I always forget eventually. I can't even remember the colour of my own granddaughter's eyes!

You had gorgeous eyes. Warm and hazel. Some days they had a little more green in them than usual, but most of the time they were closer to brown. And sometimes it even looked like you had little threads and flecks of gold through them. And I know it sounds cliché, but, _Rassilon_, they just lit up whenever you smiled… I never want to forget that."

Rose found she had tears in her eyes, and she protested as the Doctor groaned and sat up. For a dreadful moment she thought he was leaving. But he just shrugged off his coat, took off his jacket and shoes, and undid the buttons on his cuffs. Then he lay back down and just looked around the room.

"Something's different," he muttered. His eyes drifted down in exhaustion. "That's one thing I liked about being John Smith, though," he said sadly. "He dreamt of you every night… but they weren't all nightmares. Now every dream I have of you is painful weather it's good or bad. But I don't want it to stop, because this room, my memories and my dreams are all I have left of you."

"No it's not," she told him. "I'm here."

A single tear ran down the side of his face and he wiped it off. "Blimey," he murmured, looking at his glistening fingers, as if shocked to see the evidence of his emotions there.

Rose ran her hand down over his cheeks in a gentle caress. Her fingertips would have just barely grazed the skin… but she felt nothing. Not a thing! It was like there was nothing there at all. But she could _see_ him. She could see him, but not touch him. The irony was not lost on her, and it bought tears to her eyes.

She just wanted things to go back to normal. She wanted to be seen and heard and felt. She wanted to be able to change her clothes and pick things up without having it use all her attention to do it. She wanted to take the pain and sorrow from the Doctor's eyes and make him laugh again.

She just wanted things to be right.

.

Looking up she found that the Doctor was just about asleep. She knew his sleeping habits well; knew that he only needed and hour or two every night. And that he would usually be up for a few more hours yet before he went to bed. He must be _exhausted_ to be asleep now.

As he fell asleep, the exhaustion and sorrow and age was smoothed from his face. He looked younger and more innocent… at peace. He didn't have the burden of a billion lives and hundreds of planets weighing him down. He was free… if just for a moment.

With as sad smile on her face, Rose moved as close as she could without touching him, and curled up beside him. It wasn't long until sleep claimed her too.

.

A movement and a noise woke Rose up. She opened her eyes just in time to see an arm swing down onto her face. She jumped up and squeaked in shock as the Doctor's arm went through her head.

He was still asleep, but she watched as every few moments he would thrash and turn. Small whimpers escaped him and his eyes were screwed tight.

"No… Rose…" he whimpered quietly. In an instant Rose was back by his side, trying to calm him. She didn't care if he went through her anymore, she just wanted to stop the bloody nightmare.

"Shh, shh, it's okay," she soothed. "I'm here. I'm here, Doctor. I'm right beside you. I'm fine. We're safe." The thrashing stopped, but he kept whimpering. Carefully she ghosted her fingertips over his face like she had before. "I love you," she whispered.

Soon the Doctor stilled beneath her. "Rose…" he murmured, sounding much more at peace. "Stay with me."

"Forever," she told him, her voice strained. A slight smile pulled the corner of his mouth up. Rose curled back into his side. "I'm not going anywhere. I promise."

.

.

.

_**See… just a LITTLE bit emotional. Anyone closer to figuring out what she is?**_


	4. Where Did You Go

**Where Did You Go?**

.

.

Rose found herself wandering to the console room again. They weren't back yet. It wasn't anything to be too worried about. She knew from experience that they could sometimes be gone for a few days.

And yet, to be honest, she wasn't sure if she were more bored when they were there, or when they weren't. When they weren't, she felt even more isolated than she already was; even interaction with people she couldn't see was better than none at all. And when they were, it was harder to do anything she wanted.

For some reason, anything she did to try to show them she was there failed. She had tried picking things up. But even concentrating her hardest, she would just go through things. She had tried writing a note, but that had disappeared… followed by a falsely innocent hum from the TARDIS when asked where it went. It was almost like the TARDIS didn't _want_ them to know she was there.

But why? What was wrong with him knowing she was there? If he knew, then he might be able to help her.

With a sigh of disappointment, she made her way back to her room. As she sat down on her bed, she saw the 'Book of Rose'. She hadn't looked in it since that brief flick through the pages a few weeks ago.

Curious, she picked it up. The pictures in here were astounding. All of her or things that had happened in their time together. There was something for each memorable moment. Cardiff 1869, the Dalek, the Game Station, the Blitz, their run-ins with Cassandra, Woman Wept. Everything.

Each page gave a little more of what he had been thinking at the time. She was honestly surprised at most of it.

At the moment, she was drawn in by the pages about the Game Station. He never really spoke much about what had happened. And she could never remember. He'd very reluctantly told her that she had looked into the heart of the TARDIS, and used the power of the Time Vortex to destroy the Daleks. And he had never told her _exactly_ what it was that had 'killed' him.

This told her much, much more.

She drank in the lines as if they were the most important things in the world. Some made her unbelievably happy. Others confused her, and some made her gasp in horror.

_'Saved him. Saved his life. Saved his soul. Saved him from himself.'_

_'She brings him back. Pulling the life back to a dead man. A fixed point in time. Immortal.'_

_'He cannot live without her. It is an excruciatingly unbearable thought. And so he gives his life for hers.'_

_'She is all he can think of as he bursts into flames.'_

_'She looked into the heart of the TARDIS, and the TARDIS looked into her. Bonding them as one.'_

Bonding them as one? She was part of the TARDIS? What he on about? He had told her about looking into the heart of the TARDIS. He said that it caused her memory loss and helped her pour the Time Vortex in the Dalek Emperor's head. He never said _anything_ about being connected to the TARDIS.

And what was that about bringing someone back to life? Immortal? It wasn't him was it? Was it talking about the regeneration?

And, 'he gives his life for hers'… it was talking about her. How he died. He died saving her life… That stupid idiot. She found herself blinking away tears.

Finally putting the book down, she placed it on the table. Looking at the clock, she started when she realised that she'd been pouring over the book for five hours. Getting up and stretching, she peered out her door, listing for a sound. Surely they should be back by now. They had been gone four days now. Even that was pushing it.

She headed to the console, but when there was no sight of them, she went for the kitchen. They weren't there either, but right now she was hungry. So she grabbed together some of her favourite foods and headed out.

It was annoying that she just couldn't make them see she was there. She was getting breakfast one morning and was about to pick it up, only to find that she was going right through it. Only a few seconds later the Doctor walked through the door. He had seen her bowl, frowned at if for a moment then looked up into the ceiling of the TARDIS.

"Why do you do this to me?" he had asked. Then he sat down on her, causing her to jump away, and started to eat _her_ breakfast. Martha had thought it was strange he was eating it. He had responded by telling her that it had been a favourite of one of his friends (her, of course) and that he supposed he just bought it out of habit.

She was glad he did, because it _was_ her favourite and she really wanted it. It didn't exist in the other universe and she was seriously craving it. She would have to leave a list of things that she hadn't eaten in a while so that they'd actually have some.

As it was, she was making quite a dent in the TARDIS food supply. She'd already gone through just about every single bag of her favourite future sweet. It was from New Zealand in 2282. Damn, those people had such a sweet-tooth.

Grabbing the last one, she made herself a cup of tea, then headed for the library. She really hadn't spent enough time in there. And now that she was TARDIS bound, she had a lot more time on her hands to do so.

* * *

**?...DW…?**

* * *

Five more days passed, and Rose was getting increasingly more worried. She and the Doctor had never been away from the TARDIS this long. Not without planning it before hand, but even then, they had always popped back for something or other. The Doctor and Martha had been gone for at least nine days…

She wasn't actually too sure. It was hard to tell on the TARDIS. The only way was the clock that she had bought on board when she had packed up her entire room and moved in for good. But now she found she didn't need quite as much sleep and with the amount of books she was reading, she wasn't looking at it very often. She was just assuming it was five days… it was most likely longer.

In that time, she had read through the entire series of Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Inkheart, and Game of Thrones, and at least two books on physics. If she was going to be stuck here, might as well understand it. She was planning on moving onto some future series. But if she was honest, fantasy was the best. Now that she wasn't out there, she craved the adventure more than ever. Sadly, the only way she could do that was by escaping into a book.

.

Rose finally put her books down when the TARDIS began to rumble and shake. Someone was moving her again. A lot. She'd been moved about quite a bit recently and she was worried that someone had taken her away from the Doctor, and that's why he wasn't back. But there was no way for her to help him with that. She couldn't fly the TARDIS, couldn't leave it, and had no idea where he was outside of it.

There was nothing she could do. It made her feel so useless.

She sprinted into the console room just in time to see a man and woman tumble in and close the door.

"Who the hell are you?" she asked. Of course, they couldn't hear her. They just looked about in awe a moment, before slowly walking up the ramp. They stopped when a bluish hologram of the Doctor, much like the one she had seen, only of this incarnation, appeared in the next level.

'This is security protocol 712,' the hologram Doctor said. 'This time capsule has detected the presence of an authorised control disk, valid one journey." The man opened a DVD case to find that the DVD inside was glowing. 'Please insert the disc and prepare for departure.'

The hologram faded away and the woman began looking around the console for where to put it. "Looks like a DVD player," she said, pointing to a spot on the console. "There's a slot."

Suddenly they all toppled over as a huge jolt shook the TARDIS. The lights flashed and they had to cling to the console so they didn't end up down in the garden room.

"They're trying to get in!" the man said.

"Well, hurry up then!" the woman cried.

"Don't worry," Rose said, despite the fact they would never hear her reassurances. "Nothing can get through those doors. We're safe, so just hold on."

Finally the man slid the glowing disk into the slot on the console and the central column began to move up and down. Rose stared at in surprise. Sure, she'd heard what the hologram Doctor had said, but she hadn't actually thought that it would program the TARDIS to go somewhere.

"What's happening?" the man said, looking around in panic. Rose noticed that they were flickering. She had seen this before. The TARDIS was going to dematerialise without them… leaving them to whatever was out there…

"Oh my god! It's leaving us behind!" the woman said. "Doctor, no, you can't! Doctor!" The man came and huddled into her. They clung together fearfully… And Rose could only watch helplessly as they faded away.

She stared at the place where the two people had been crouched until the door banging open startled her into looking up. Still, she couldn't help the smile spreading across her face when the Doctor came in.

"Yep!" he said to Martha who followed in behind him. "And it's all thanks to Sally Sparrow!"

"But… hang on," Martha said, looking around. "Where is she?"

"Oh, I didn't want to pull her from her own time-stream. There's been enough of that, don't you think? No, the TARDIS would have dematerialised around her."

"But what about the Weeping Angels?"

"Yeah, Doctor," Rose said. "What about the Weeping Angels?" She assumed they were what had been attacking the TARDIS. She knew that no one could hear her, but she would go insane not talking at all, just because she couldn't be heard.

"Oh, they're fine. If I'm right, and I always am, they would have been trying to get into the TARDIS. There were four of them. One for each side. When the TARDIS dematerialised, they would have been left facing each other."

"So they'd be stuck looking at each other forever… they'll never move!" Martha said. Then something else seemed to sink in. "Oh my god! We're back!"

"Home sweet home!" the Doctor grinned.

"No more bloody 1969!"

"Yep," he said.

Rose breathed a sigh of relief. If they weren't worried, then she shouldn't be either. It sounded like the Doctor had everything sorted.

"I'm going to go have a shower… And then burn that god-awful uniform. Promise me we're never going back there. I think I've had enough of that place for one lifetime. Did you see the way some people looked at me? I didn't think racism was that bad back then."

"Yeah, sorry about that. There might not have been segregation, but some people could still be pretty prejudiced."

"Well, it wasn't as bad as 1923, I'll give you that. Can the next place we go be somewhere where people don't care if I'm black?"

The Doctor laughed. It was only an accident, those last two places. "Sure." Trying not to laugh herself, Martha left the room and the Doctor set the TARDIS in motion. "Goodbye, 1969!" he said gleefully. "Ugh, never again! I am never going to get stranded without my _lovely_ TARDIS _ever_ again, am I, old girl? No sir-ee!"

"You lost the TARDIS!" Rose said, very close to laughter. "You know, you don't really have a very good track record for that."

With a fond smile she sat and watched as he talked away and caught up with his TARDIS… in other words, did some tinkering. It was almost like old times… if only he knew she was there.

About half an hour later, she followed him as he headed off to the kitchen. She had missed human contact for the last few weeks. Martha was already sitting at the table when they came in, eating what looked to be just a toasty sandwich.

When he opened the cupboard door to grab himself something, she saw that, yet again, the note she had written was gone. She and stuck the note asking for more if her favourite sweets on the inside of the door. It wasn't there for him to see, so it was something else that bought him up short.

"Where's her food gone?!" he said. His brow creased in confusion as he sorted through the cupboard, but it was clear that half of it was gone.

"Sorry?" Martha said.

"Rose's food is gone."

"Rose…" she raised a sceptical eyebrow.

"Okay, this is going to sound really stupid, but… I still buy all her favourite foods." He sat down opposite her and Rose sat on the already pushed out chair beside him… she had the feeling it wouldn't budge if she tried to move it.

"Is this like with breakfast last time, before we got stuck?" she asked. "I don't get it. She's gone. Why do you still buy it?" To the Doctor's credit, he didn't even flinch when Martha had bluntly said she was gone.

"Habit," he shrugged. "And I guess that somewhere deep down… I still hope she'll come back." He spoke with a calm neutral voice, but Rose could hear the slight wistful tint to it.

"I have come back," she told him.

"You never told me, where is she?"

The Doctor hesitated. "With her family."

"Yeah, you've told me that part. Where, though?"

"London, I guess," he said evasively.

"If you really want her back, then why don't you go get her? How hard could it be to find someone in London when you have a TARDIS?"

"Harder than you think," he said wearily.

"_Would_ she come back with you?"

"Yes," both Rose and the Doctor said immediately. The Doctor carried on. "Yes, I have no doubt she would. Her leaving wasn't really something either of us wanted."

"Then why did she leave?"

"Martha, can we please just drop it?" he said. Martha looked at him a long moment before nodding and taking another bite of her sandwich. The Doctor sighed quietly and looked down at the table, so he missed her somewhat sour look.

Rose could somewhat understand the girl, having fallen for the Doctor herself. She knew that the Doctor could be quite a flirt without realising it, and he was attractive enough to entice quite a few women. There had been plenty of times she had felt jealous, but the only time it had hurt was when she believed he actually did love someone back… She didn't blame him for Reinette. It's not like she had a claim on him…

And now it certainly seemed like he loved _her_ back… She wondered whether it was just the fact that he had lost her recently, in such a horrible way, that had him clinging to the hope of her, or if she might have become just another past companion of it had been a different way.

Then again… what he had said on the beach… he _was_ going to say _something_.

"Well," Rose said. "If I could actually find a way to tell you I'm here without the _TARDIS _stopping me, you would only have to find a way to bring me back into your… I don't know, just make me corporeal! Honestly, since I can't leave, at this rate I'm going to be a genius if I keep reading through that library of yours. And since you can't hear me, Doctor, I stole that banana cake you told Martha not to eat."

The Doctor only stood, looked suspiciously through the cupboard, giving it a bit of a scan with the sonic, then with a shrug, fixed himself a meal. She sat there and watched them. Nothing much was said for the rest of the night. She had been watching them before and most nights were like this. Sometimes they would have small conversations and laugh about… but it was never like it had been with her and the Doctor.

Half the time they'd struggle to eat because they were laughing or talking too much, or jumping around, even trying to mush their food on the other. The Doctor and Martha… they weren't always exactly quiet, but they seemed rather normal in comparison. And she wanted him to be like he used to be, so bright and happy. Everything he did just radiated energy and joy. He was manic and wonderful. It wasn't very often that he wasn't, only when something really bad happened.

She _had_ to find a way to let him know she was here. She didn't understand why the TARDIS was trying to stop her. She would find a way around it. She promised herself she _would_ let him know.

.

.

.

* * *

_**I know, FINALLY another chapter! When I posted the last chapter, I got lots of reviews asking why she doesn't leave him a note, that was actually something I'd already written. And I'm going to have to stop this authors note now because my boyfriend keeps trying to steal me back, I've been trying to post this for the past 5 hours!**_


	5. A Long Lost Friend

**A Long Lost Friend**

.

Rose watched as the Doctor woke from his uneasy sleep and rubbed at his groggy eyes. She had taken to staying in his room these past few nights. She'd been getting her 'midnight' dinner - the only time she knew she'd be able to eat without Martha or the Doctor walking in and stopping her - when she'd walked past his door to find him having another nightmare.

It horrified her that he seemed to have so many of them. And he had them about everything. The Time War, her, people he couldn't save, people he killed. It was like his mind was so full with guilt and darkness that he held at bay, that it all came flooding out when he didn't have the power to keep it in.

He never seemed to have a good sleep, but she hoped that her being there, in spirit and… well, whatever the hell she was, that she was somewhat helping him. And to be honest, she was lonely and scared. Being close to him helped her too.

.

Letting him have some privacy while he showered and got changed, Rose went to go have a shower of her own. The warm water slucing down her back helped wake her up and relax.

She hadn't been sleeping well of late either. Maybe it was because she was worried about the Doctor, or about her situation. Maybe it was because somehow, she was linked to the TARDIS, and the TARDIS didn't want anyone to know that she existed.

She had never realised that the TARDIS was _this_ sentient. Okay, she had noticed one or two things, but now that she was somewhat linked to her, it was like she could feel the old girl all around her. And the things that she could do were incredible. She doubted that even the Doctor knew what a quarter of them were.

At least now the TARDIS was being a lot more co-operative. It seemed that, in her measures to stop Rose from contacting anyone, she paid attention to some of the things Rose was asking for and helped her out with that.

Rose needed a new hairdryer, since her last one finally died from the Doctor's old fix-it jobs. So the TARDIS hid Martha's, causing her to get a new one, and swapping them so the new one was in Rose's room. And no one ever dared going into Rose's room. Even the Doctor only went in there on rare occasions.

It kind of saddened her. Truth was… she was lonely.

.

After her shower, she headed to the console room to find the Doctor alone, tinkering. With a smile, she went and sat on the jump seat. She like these moments, when it was just her and him, fixing the TARDIS. It almost felt normal.

She laughed as he yelped and started scolding the TARDIS. She knew at that point he would be telling her not to laugh at him. It was only small things like that that bought the reality back down on her.

"What's your problem today, eh?" he said, rubbing the edge of the panel he was working under. "You feeling a bit down? Well, I suppose we have been travelling to some horrible places lately. Can't have been nice on you either. You need a rest." Getting up, he looked at the monitor and frowned. "You don't need a rest, you need a recharge... I know just the place to go today!"

"And where's that?" Martha asked as she walked into the room. Rose turned to face her and realised that she had a pout-y frown on her face. When Martha was there, there was no _way_ that she could pretend in the slightest. She liked it better when it had just been her and the Doctor... And Jack. She missed Jack.

Before Martha had finished speaking, the Doctor had already set the TARDIS in motion. So by the time he answered, they were already there.

"Cardiff!" he cried.

"Cardiff?" Martha repeated in disgust.

"Time Rift danger central," Rose grinned, thinking of all the memories here... Actually... she wasn't so sure _why_ she like Cardiff so much. There weren't actually many happy memories. Her first argument with the Doctor, when he told her more or less to go home. Gwyneth. The Gelth. That terrifying earthquake. Nearly being strangled to death. Her argument with Mickey. Losing him... and that feeling that she knew he would never forgiver her completely for what she had done to him...

"Ah, but the thing about Cardiff is," the Doctor said, snapping her back, "that it's built on a rift in time and Space. Just like California and the San Andreas Fault. The rift bleeds energy. every now and then I need to open up the engines, soak up the energy and use it as fuel."

"So, it's pit stop," Martha said, sounding much happier.

"Exactly."

"Wait a minute. They had an earthquake in Cardiff a couple of years ago. Was that you?"

"Yep," Rose said brightly.

"Bit of trouble with the Slitheen," the Doctor said.

"A bit? Those things just kept coming back. And then we had to go to Raxacoricofallapatorius! That place was _freaky!_"

"Long time ago," the Doctor continued. "Lifetimes. I was a different man back then."

"He means that literally too," Rose said to Martha.

"Finito. All powered up!" the Doctor said brightly when the TARDIS bleeped.

Rose looked at the monitor in time to see a figure running across the Plass towards them… A very familiar figure. It seemed that the Doctor had noticed too… and was panicking at the sight of their old friend. He immediately set the TARDIS to dematerialise, it was like he couldn't do it fast enough.

"What are you doing!" Rose cried in alarm. She reached over and pushed it back into neutral, but the Doctor growled and pushed it back almost immediately. "It's Jack!" she said.

Suddenly there was a crash, the console sparked, and everyone was thrown to the floor. Quickly, they all clung to the console and dragged themselves up slightly, still clinging on for dear life, since the TARDIS was still moving. And Rose could hear her, feel her. She was in pain and panicking.

"What was that?" Martha cried. The Doctor jumped up and put one foot up on the console to steady himself. He tried to look at the monitor but a shower of sparks fell down on him. Adjusting the screen he looked again.

"We're accelerating," the Doctor said. "Into the future. The year one billion. Five billion. Five trillion? Fifty trillion? What?! The year 100 trillion? That's impossible!"

"Why? What happens then?"

For a moment all he could do was open and close his mouth, a look of incredulity on his face. "We're going to the end of the universe," he said. There was another thud that threw them all on their butts, then the TARDIS was silent and still. "Well, we've landed." The Doctor got to his feet. The other two followed.

"So, what's out there?" Martha asked.

"I don't know," he said.

"What?!" Rose cried. "First time I've heard that!"

"Say that again. That's rare," Martha laughed nervously.

"Not even the Time Lords came this far. We should leave. We should go. We should really… go…" Suddenly he looked at Martha and a huge, cheeky grin lit up his face. In the next second, he was running for the door.

.

Rose stood in the doorway as the other two continued out into the night air. They had landed in some distant, rocky wasteland. She shivered as the wind blew past her. She could feel how strange and stale it seemed. It was a cold clear night, yet looking up she saw no stars. Not one.

She was, however, distracted from the sight by a cry from ahead.

"Oh my god!" Martha said, rushing over to a body that was lying on the ground. Tears welled in Rose's eyes. Even though it was dark, and even from here, she could tell who it was. "Can't get a pulse. Hold on, you've got a medical kit thing!"

She ran back into the TARDIS, walking through Rose as she attempted to get out of the way. Rose stepped out of the TARDIS and walked till the pressure became too much. Then she just stood there, tears running silently down her cheeks.

"Hello again," the Doctor said blankly to the unconscious - or dead - Jack. "Oh, I'm sorry." Rose blinked in surprise hearing how the Doctor treated their old friend so indifferently.

"Here we go," Martha said, running back over with the small bag. She pushed the Doctor out of her way so she was at Jack's side faster. "Out of the way! It's a bit odd, though. Not very 100 trillion. That coat's more like World War II."

"It's is," Rose sniffed, wiping her eyes. "He loved that coat. You should have seen when the Doctor hid it from him!"

"I think he came with us," the Doctor said, still sounding very detached.

"How do you mean? From Earth?"

"Must have been clinging to the outside of the TARDIS, all the way through the Vortex… Well, that's very him."

"What? Do you know him?"

"Friend of mine. Use to travel with me, back in the old days."

"And that's how you treat old friends?" Rose muttered.

"But he's… I'm sorry, there's no heartbeat. There's nothing. He's dead."

Fresh tears had just started to leak from Rose's eyes when Jack suddenly sat up with a loud gasp. He grabbed onto Martha, who screamed at the unexpected contact. And for a second - a split second - Jack looked right at Rose. Actually looked at her.

Rose could see the confusion on his face, and see him mouth her name. Though, soon he was distracted by Martha.

"Oh, well, so much for me. It's alright. Just breathe deep. I've got you now."

"Captain Jack Harkness," he introduced himself to Martha. "And who are you?"

"Martha Jones."

"Nice to meet you, Martha Jones."

"Oh, don't start!" both Rose and the Doctor said at the same time. They both knew his antics all too well.

"I was just saying hello!" he protested.

"And for you, that's flirting," Rose giggled. She suddenly realised that Jack was somehow alive and began to giggle manically. She didn't understand what was going on.

"I don't mind," Martha said, helping Jack up. For a moment, Jack and the Doctor just stared at each other coldly.

"Doctor," Jack said.

"Captain," said the Doctor in the same tone.

"Good to see you."

"And you. Same as ever… although… have you had work done?"

"You can talk!" he cried. For a split second, the Doctor seemed confused, then he clicked.

"Oh, yes, the face. Regeneration. How did you know it was me?"

"The Police Box kind of gives it away," he replied, pointing to the box. Then his demeanour changed again, he became slightly more cold. Rose could tell that he had been through much since they had last seen him. "I've been following you for a long time. You abandoned me."

"What?!" Rose cried.

"Did I? Busy life. Moving on."

"Really?" she said in surprise. She didn't want to believe it was true… but the way the Doctor was talking…

"Just got to ask… The battle of Canary Wharf." Her heart dropped into her stomach. "I saw the list of the dead. It said Rose Tyler."

Rose saw the way that Martha's head swung to the Doctor in horrified surprise. The expression quickly changed when the Doctor corrected them, though.

"Oh, no! Sorry! She's alive!"

"You're kidding?!" Jack cried.

"Yes. He is. I'm dead," Rose said to thin air.

"Parallel world. Safe and sound. And Mickey! And her mother!"

"Oh yes!" Jack cried, running over to the Doctor and embracing him in happiness. They both laughed, and Rose looked down at the ground. They didn't know how wrong they were.

"Mickey and Mum, yeah… But not me. I'm here… I'm… probably a ghost." Tears pricked in her eyes as she looked at the two mean, celebrating in the false hope that she was okay. She couldn't stand it, so she turned to Martha.

Martha was standing not far off, looking down at the ground sadly. "Good old Rose," she said softly.

"So, we're here," the Doctor said, breaking apart from Jack. "At the end of the universe. What do you say we go look around?"

"Sounds like a plan to me," Jack said.

"No. No, it isn't a plan!" Rose said. "Jack, you've been away so long, don't you want to see the TARDIS? Come on, the TARDIS missed you. Come on guys, _please_ don't leave!" Of course, none of them heard her, and none of them agreed anyway. There were mutual agreements on exploring, and the three off them walked away into the wasteland, talking like good old friends. "Fine… Okay, then," she said. "I'll - I'll just… be here…"

* * *

**?…DW…?**

* * *

It was hours later that Rose saw movement again. She knew that it wasn't the Doctor. It was a truck with a tank on the back. There were two people in it, and neither of them were anyone she knew. Carefully, she closed the door and hid in the TARDIS, hoping they would not stop.

As she listened at the door, she cursed as the truck slowed down and stopped. The two men talked a little, then the TARDIS began to shake as someone moved it.

"Crap!" she said. There was nothing she could do to stop them. When the Doctor came back, he would find that the TARDIS was gone, and he would panic. And she could do nothing… She was sick of not being able to help.

.

So, with nothing else to do, she waited in the console room, till the shaking stopped, and she was finally still. She knew that nothing could get in, but it still felt like her duty to protect the TARDIS. It wasn't long till she was moved again a little. And no sooner had they stopped, the door burst open to reveal a grinning Doctor.

He rushed in, lifted some of the grating from the floor, grabbed a large cable out of it, and dashed back out again.

"Erm… I'm sorry, what's going on?" Rose said in confusion. It seemed that she had missed a lot.

"Extra power," he said gleefully to the people just outside. "Little bit of a cheat, but who's counting? Jack, you're in charge of the retro-feeds." Then he, Jack, and an old man got to work on some device. A few moments later, Martha walked into the room with a blue insect woman, both of their arms full.

"Oh, am I glad to see that thing!" Martha cried when she saw the TARDIS. There was a static charge to the air, and Rose could feel the TARDIS's annoyance at being refered to as a 'thing'.

Finally happy, at least to not be alone, Rose sat in the doorway of the open TARDIS and watched what everyone was doing. She watched as the Doctor compassionately listened to the old man, Professor Yana, and helped him to build a machine to escape.

This was what she'd missed. Helping people. Seeing the Doctor so happy as he did what he did best… She would gladly die a thousand times to see that.

.

.

.

* * *

_**I think the saddest thing about how late I've posted this chapter, was that that I've had most of this done for a while. I was going to finish the episode, but then I realised it would be a VERY long chapter, so I decided to end it there.**_

_**Sorry it was a little slow, but I hope you liked it anyway.**_


End file.
